Hey folks,
It's time for me to start setting up the games of the 3rd MAME Olympiad. This Olympiad hasn't been around since 2007, and that was more of a team competition. We're going back to the "represent your country" model. With that in mind... here are the rules. (subject to change until a reasonable point in time, of course)

1a. The Olympiad will be four weeks in duration. There will be four blocks of games, each one week in duration, back to back. This is going to be a five game, five week tournament. There will be no breaks in between games. The first block will begin on July 31st at 00:00:01 GMT, and the final block will end on August 27th at 23:59:59 GMT.
1b. Each block will begin on Sunday at or around 00:00:01GMT, and will end at the next Saturday at 23:59:59 GMT. The blocks of games will be announced in advance. They may be theme-related, depending on the games selected.
2a. All members of MARP will have the opportunity to coordinate up to three games in the tournament.
2b. These "coordinators" will be able to set DIP switches, versions allowed (but they can only choose one or a combination of WolfMAME 99, 106, or the latest version, unless there's a rare reason to allow a different version) as well as determine if the game will be a traditional "most points wins" game or a "time trial"... or any other reasonable way to determine who's awesome.
2c. The three games a coordinator may coordinate may be in different blocks, or the same block, depending on various factors.
2d. If you coordinate a game, you may not participate in that game. (except in fun, in which case your score doesn't count) So pick a game in which you want to see some awesomeness that you haven't seen in a while!
3a. You may remember in the first Olympiad that there was a qualifying round. There will be no qualifying rounds in this Olympiad; all players, save the coordinator, will be allowed to participate in each game that is coordinated.
3b. Each game will be submitted to the main site. Submitting to the forums will not count. I will be respectfully requesting that games are set up in this format: *o3-gamename. If these don't get built, then we will use the MARP regulation play games as usual.
4a. Each player will represent a country. You must be a citizen in that country in order to represent that country. If a player is a "permanent resident alien" in a country, that player can't represent that country, but if a player has dual citizenship, then he can choose which country to represent.
4b. All games will be awarded platinum, gold, silver, bronze, and steel joysticks... well, virtually. Those joysticks will be worth 9, 6, 4, 2, and 1 points to the country the player is representing, respectively.

And now the mundane rules:
5a. As mentioned previously, a maximum of three versions will be allowed for all games: WolfMAME 99, 106, or the latest version. Exceptions may be granted based on game-specific factors.
5b. All recordings must average 99%-101% in speed. No exceptions.
5c. The "24 hour rule" is dropped. It really can't be enforced. But I do expect file dates to be within the time limit of each game.

6a. Sportsmanship is an expectation in all MARP tournaments. In this tournament, I will caution you that any poor sportsmanship may (and probably will) result in penalties up to and including expulsion from the Olympiad.
6b. "Sniping", i.e. doing the following within the last 24 hours: submitting only one recording in a game, or submitting a horrendous recording early(i.e. close to last place) then submitting a spectacular recording(i.e. close to first place) late, is considered poor sportsmanship. In these cases, the player will be penalized according to rule 6a, depending on the severity of the violation. (if you "snipe" a 5th place recording, you won't be penalized as harshly than you "sniping" a 1st place recording)
6c. At the end of the tournament, the coordinator will select a "fair play award" recipient. (or two or three or whatever ) Best sportsmanship will receive the honor.

7. These rules may change without notice, but don't expect them to change during the tournament.
8. Most importantly, have fun!

I apologize, but due to virtually zero interest (save one person, Saludos), and also due to my impending retirement from all emulation/high score activities (don't worry - this wasn't a reason - I just want to move on), the Olympiad is hereby cancelled.